Rajasthan allots land to Adani firm to set up 1,000 MW solar power project

In the Rajasthan cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at his official residence on Saturday, many key decisions were taken including the allotment of 2,397.54 hectares of government land in Bandha village of Jaisalmer district to Adani Renewable Energy Holding Four Limited on cost for setting up 1,000 Mw Solar Power Project.

This allotment will be made under Rajasthan Land Revenue (Allotment of Land for Setting Up of Power Plant based on Renewable Energy Sources) Rules-2007.

The electricity generation will increase in the state with the setting up of solar energy based production units.

Besides this, there will be an increase in the opportunities of local employment and revenue earning of the state.

It is to be mentioned that Rajasthan is on the first position in the country by installing a capacity of around 13,000 MW of solar energy.

At the same, under Solar Energy Policy 2019, a target of generating 30,000 MW has been set by the year 2024-25.

For this, the current government with the cabinet's approval has allotted around 16,000 hectares of land for setting up solar and wind energy plants.

The Cabinet also decided to amend the 'Rajasthan State Employees General Provident Fund Rules, 2021'.

In order to implement this proposal, the provisions of Rajasthan State Employees General Provident Fund Rules, 2021 will be applicable to the state employees appointed on and after 01-01-2004.

These personnel will now come under the ambit of GPF on the same lines as the employees appointed before 01-01-2004 under the provisions of GPF by deducting the prescribed GPF amount.

The Cabinet has also decided to establish and operate a Medi-Tourism Wellness Centre at Nathdwara, which was announced in the budget 2022. The centre will be operated on pilot basis under the aegis of district level society through experienced social organization to provide quality care under Naturopathy, Yoga and Ayurveda.

It was also decided to set up Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Advance Technology (R-CAT) as a Finishing School for youth of the state who will get opportunities to do certificate courses in latest IT Technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics and Virtual Reality and multi-disciplinary research. With this objective, the setting up of R-CAT was announced in the budget session 2021-22.

The Cabinet has also decided to amend the earlier set priorities and the 'Rajasthan Ethanol Production Promotion Policy 2021' for setting up of distilleries, breweries and bottling plants.